Feeling the Draft

Written By Jonathan Krogh

Dear Document Drafters:

This past week I worked with a small committee of La Grange Area Ministerium members on a statement arising from concerns expressed during our monthly gatherings. The content of the declaration will be forthcoming, but this morning I am musing regarding the process.

Drafting anything with a committee is difficult. We all want to say something, but how that something is articulated is quickly bogged down with specifics. I recall many times working as a church consultant; a committee selected by my client congregation suggested the church create some promotional materials regarding the ministry and vitality of their church. Enthusiasm for the idea was always good. “Perhaps we should send post cards to new residents!” or “We could have the youth group put door hangers around the neighborhood!” I was always amazed at how quickly the youth group was volunteered for the onerous task of distribution, without their input. But the youth group had nothing to worry about, because the project regularly stalled when the committee was asked to create content for the promotion. Once the drafting subcommittee got beyond the church name, address and worship time, the whole enterprise tended to stall. “We’re nice people with a choir and good-looking kids who circulate through the neighborhood distributing door hangers” just didn’t sound like a great sell. It wasn’t that the congregation had little to offer; it was that specificity was elusive.

I am grateful to Reverend Brian Damrow for providing the Ministerium with a rough draft. It gave the subcommittee a strong starting point, and he remained gracious as we thoroughly thrashed his laborious draft. We are now circulating a current version among the subcommittee members, and I expect we will have something ready for wider distribution soon. But I have been reminded how finding clarity and specificity is hard work.

In 2022 the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA approved the creation of a commission to write a new confession for the church. A sixteen-member committee of church leaders and theologians was appointed, and the work began in December 2023. The office of the General Assembly occasionally reports on their meetings and progress. The process for approving a new confession is arduous. Once the draft is completed and approved by the commission, it is forwarded for approval by the General Assembly. Once it is amended and approved by the General Assembly, the document is forwarded across the country to the 164 regional presbyteries for debate and vote. If 2/3 of the presbyteries approve the document, it returns to the General Assembly for final ratification. The last time the Presbyterian Church USA drafted a new confession, which resulted in A Brief Statement of Faith, the process of full ratification took eight years. Current commission members have my deepest sympathy.

While the work of the current committee is kept under wraps, I’m pretty sure they’ve agreed that Presbyterian youth groups across America will be more than happy to undertake its distribution.

Grateful these musings do not involve committee review, I remain,

With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor

Jonathan Krogh
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